The invention relates generally to electronic packages, and, more particularly, to sealed electronic packages for use in rugged environmental conditions.
The proliferation of electronic devices in modern vehicles creates a number of manufacturing challenges in packaging the electronic devices to adequately protect electronic components and ensure reliable operation thereof. Especially for electronic packages which are mounted on the exterior of a vehicle, providing adequate protection for electronics can become a daunting task.
For example, electronic monitoring of brake wear for trucks, buses, and larger vehicles has become desirable to ensure proper performance of the vehicle and to comply with applicable regulations. By sensing an operating condition of the brakes for the vehicle or trailer, a warning signal may be provided to an operator of the vehicle, such as through a dashboard light or indicator, that one or more of the vehicle brakes should be serviced. Unacceptable or dangerous operating conditions may therefore be avoided, and inconvenient physical inspection of the brakes need not be as frequent.
As the number of monitored brakes increases in a vehicle, wiring the brake sensors to the vehicle dashboard is problematic, as the dashboard area is not easy to access and space is limited. While this difficulty may at least be partially overcome by connecting the wires to a separate indicator away from the dashboard on the vehicle interior, connecting a large number of wires to such an indicator can be unsightly and undesirable.
It has been proposed to interconnect the brake sensors at a location exterior to the vehicle and to provide only one signal line to the vehicle dashboard or vehicle interior. Known input/output modules, however, are not suitable for use on the exterior of a vehicle, and typically entail a number of separately provided connector components which add to the cost of the system and introduce reliability issues.